Review: Rocky Patel Dark Star Robusto

Today, we review the Rocky Patel Dark Star in the Robusto size. The Dark Star is a new regular production line released by Rocky Patel Premium Cigars at the 2023 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. Rocky Patel made headlines at that particular Trade Show, releasing the $100.00 Conviction Cigar. Dark Star comes back to earth with its price point coming at $10.50 and $12.50 per cigar. While Conviction got the headlines because of the price point, Dark Star made headlines because of tobacco that originates from a Paraguayan seed.

If you aren’t familiar with Paraguay, it is in South America and is nestled between Argentina and Brazil. Tobacco from Paraguayan seed isn’t common, but companies such as Bombay Tobak, Cavalier Genève, and General Cigar Company have used it over the years. From our understanding, some of the Dark Star filler tobacco was grown and cultivated in Honduras, but the seed was from Paraguay.

For now, we will turn our attention to the Rocky Patel Dark Star Robusto and see what this cigar offers.

Rocky Patel Dark Star Robusto – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Dark Star blend features Honduran tobaccos for the wrapper, binder and filler. It also includes tobacco grown in Honduras using a seed from Paraguay.

Wrapper: Honduran Corojo
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran, including a seed from Paraguay
Country of Origin: Honduras
Factory: El Paraiso

Vitolas Offered

Dark Star is available in four sizes. Each comes in 20-count boxes.

Short Star: 4 x 60
Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 52
Sixty: 6 x 60

Appearance (*)

While the cigar is called Dark Star, I don’t believe it’s because of the wrapper. The Honduran wrapper of the Dark Star Robusto was more of a medium-roast coffee bean color. There was a slight amount of oil on the surface of the wrapper. Upon closer examination, some mottling could also be seen on the surface. Some veins and wrapper seams were also visible.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

Before lighting up the Dark Star Robusto, a straight cut removed the cigar cap. From that point, it was on to the pre-light draw experience. The cold draw delivered coffee bean, fruit, floral, and musty notes. Overall, this wasn’t the most exciting of pre-light draws. Since the pre-light draw is not factored into the numeric score or value rating, there was no loss of points here. At this point, it was time to remove the footer band of the Dark Star Robusto, toast up the cigar, and move on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Dark Star Robusto started out with coffee bean, fruit, wood, mixed pepper, and musty notes. Early on, the coffee bean notes moved to the forefront. Meanwhile, the fruit, wood, pepper, and musty notes settled in the background. As the cigar progressed through the first third, the musty notes emerged at the forefront, and the coffee notes receded into the background. Meanwhile, the retro-hale delivered a combination of white and black pepper.

As the Dark Star Robusto moved into the second third, the musty notes remained the primary note. From time to time, the fruit notes popped into the forefront. Things began to change when the Dark Star Robusto hit the halfway point. The wood notes took over as the primary note. The fruit and musty notes settled in the background with the coffee bean and pepper notes. The pepper notes increased as the cigar progressed through the latter part of the second third. In general, in the second half, an underlying harshness emerged.

The final third saw the pepper notes join the wood notes in the forefront. The musty notes are a close secondary note. Meanwhile, the coffee bean and fruit notes were practically gone. There was a lot more harshness during this phase. The cigar finished with a cool, soft nub as the Dark Star Robusto came to a close.

Burn

The burn of the Dark Star Robusto started out low maintenance as this cigar did not require many touch-ups. Once the cigar reached the second half, the burn became more high maintenance, requiring frequent touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and straight burn line. The resulting ash was skewed toward the firmer side. This was an ash that had a salt-and-pepper complexion to it. Meanwhile, the burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Rocky Patel Dark Star Robusto

Draw

The Dark Star Robusto performed excellently in the draw department. The draw had a touch of resistance, making it ideal in my book. At the same time, this was a low-maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

The Dark Star Robusto delivered a medium-to-full-bodied smoking experience from start to finish. Along the way, the intensity level of the strength and body slightly increased. In the end, the strength remained in the medium range, and the body remained in the medium to full range.

The body maintained the edge over the strength in terms of strength versus body.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

One thing to note, if you followed our 2023 PCA Trade Show coverage, is that the banding did change from what was shown at the Trade Show. The white, gold, and blue bands are quite clean. The Dark Star has three bands, which is becoming increasingly common in the cigar industry. There is a bit of a textured matte finish present on the bands, which is also a nice touch.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The Dark Star Robusto was a classic tale of two cigars. The first half was satisfactory, but there was a significant drop-off in the second half. Much of this was due to the harshness in the second half. In terms of the blend, I admire the Paraguayan component of the blend as it shows innovation. The problem is that more times than not, I am disappointed when tobaccos outside the major growing regions are used – and the Dark Star Robusto is one of those. In the end, I don’t see myself returning to smoke this blend and size.

Summary

Key Flavors: Wood, Must, Fruit, Coffee Bean, Pepper
Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Fair